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NYPD Bee Detective Dragged Out Of Retirement For One Last Job
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 22, 2014
Modified Aug 22, 2014
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 22, 2014
Modified Aug 22, 2014
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Longtime NYPD beekeeper Detective Anthony "Tony Bees" Planakis only filed for retirement at the start of this month, but NYC has seemingly been besieged with swarms ever since. We all thought Tony Bees was the hero NYC deserved, but not the one it needed right now. We were all wrong—and Tony Bees was called back for duty to deal with 50,000 bees in Queens yesterday.
Planakis and Larry Stone, the "Honeybee Helper" at Stoneridge Apiaries, were called in to remove 50,000 bees living in a ceiling at Gregory Hall Condominium on 51st Avenue and 90th Street. Unlike last week's culling-by-pesticide, these bees (along with more than a dozen honeycombs) were safely removed from the premises; they will be relocated to a farm upstate.
And with that, Planakis withdrew back into the eternal evening of the city. Like Cincinnatus before him, he had been summoned by the people—and even when he was handed absolute authority (over bees), he walked away and returned to the "boredom" of retirement. When you tuck your unstung children into bed tonight, give a quiet thanks. We may never see the likes of him buzzing around again.
Tagged
bees
manhattan
nypd
police
Upper West Side
uws
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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